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New Jersey brings to mind images of Trenton, beautiful landscapes, and some of the best people you'll find in the good ole US of A.
However, like all states, New Jersey has certain places that are going on hard times. These places have an above average percent of people that are living in poverty, out of work, or not making as much as they should be.
With all the talk about income inequality going on around the country, we thought it prudent to take a look at the places in each state that are struggling to make it even as the economy continues to improve. So we set our sites on bringing attention to the places in New Jersey that could use a helping hand.
To do so, we analyzed the newest Census data from the American Community Survey for the 188 places in New Jersey with more than 5,000 people.
Here are the ten poorest places in New Jersey for 2021:
Again, this isn't a commentary on the people that live there or the vibrant culture and traditions of these places. Instead, it's just a look at the facts.
What's the poorst city in New Jersey? According to the facts, Camden is the poorest place in New Jersey for 2021.
Rich people more your cup of tea? Feel free to check out the best places in New Jersey or the most dangerous.
For more on how we calculated the top ten, and for more information about these places, read on.
If you're looking for something more national, check out the poorest states in America or the poorest cities in America.
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In New Jersey
- Cheapest Places To Live In New Jersey
- Most Dangerous Cities In New Jersey
The 10 Poorest Cities In New Jersey For 2021
1. Camden
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Camden, unfortunately, ranks as the poorest place in New Jersey thanks to combination of low pay and and a lack of jobs.
The city of 74,002 people averages the lowest median household income in New Jersey and the 2nd highest poverty rate. At the very least, the cost of living ranks in the bottom 15% of place in the state, so things like housing are relatively affordable.
2. Atlantic City
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The second poorest city in New Jersey is Atlantic City.
The city ranks as having the highest incidence of poverty and 2nd lowest median household income. However, the unemployment rate 'only' ranks as the 3rd highest in the Garden State.
3. Trenton
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Placing as the third poorest city, Trenton's median income ranks as the 4th lowest.
And that's a sign that there's a relatively substantial jump in the quality of the economy from second to third place on our list. The poverty rate is 28.717585340991025% and ranks near the bottom of places in the state.
But what makes up for the relatively low incomes of the city is its low cost of living. The income you do make here goes further than in most parts of the Garden State.
4. Newark
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Newark ranks as the fourth poorest place in New Jersey.
The town ranks as having the 3rd lowest median household income and the 7th highest incidence of poverty in the state.
That being said, there's still a ton of cultural diversity in the city as it hosts many events throughout the year.
5. Wildwood
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The fifth poorest city in New Jersey is Wildwood.
The city ranks as having the 9th lowest median income in the state. However, an extremely low cost of living prevents a good number of folks from living in poverty as the poverty rate only ranks as the 16th highest in New Jersey.
Still not the best news for Wildwood.
6. Asbury Park
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Asbury Park ranks as the sixth poorest place in the Garden State.
It ranks as having the 10th highest incidence of poverty and the 11th highest unemployment rate.
7. East Orange
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East Orange places as the seventh poorest city in New Jersey.
The city of over 64,374 ranks as having the 2highest incidence of poverty in the state. However, it has a very low cost of living which helps to pay the bills each month.
8. Pleasantville
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Pleasantville ranks as the eighth poorest city in New Jersey.
The big issue for the town is the unemployment rate which ranks as the 18th highest in the state.
9. Keansburg
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Keansburg couldn't stay out of the top ten poorest places in New Jersey; it ranks number 9.
While the median income is the 18th lowest, there are a substantial number of people that live below the poverty line. Overall, Keansburg ranks as having the 9th most people living in poverty of all the places we analyzed in New Jersey.
10. Bridgeton
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And rounding out the top ten poorest cities in New Jersey is Bridgeton.
The city of 24,540 people ranks in the bottom 20% for both median income and poverty rate in the Garden State.
How We Determined The Poorest Places In New Jersey for 2021
The first thing that comes to most people's minds when they think about determining the poorest places is to simply the poverty rate. That is, the number of people living below a federally established level of income for a household of a certain size.
However, we don't think that one statistic wholly encompasses what it means to be one of the "poorest places". So we looked at this set of criteria from the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey:
- Poverty Level
- Median Household Income adjusted for the cost of living
- Unemployment Rate
The "median household income adjusted for the cost of living" attempts to gauge how expensive it is to live in a place and how that impacts the quality of life. For example, a town might have fewer people living below the official poverty line, but the cost of living is so high they'd still feel poor.
The unemployment rate tries to capture the prospects for improvement in the city or town. If more people are employed, the brighter the future looks and vice versa.
After we collected the data for all 188 places with more than 5,000 people in New Jersey, we ranked each place from 1 to 188 for each of the criteria, with 1 being the poorest.
We then averaged all the rankings for a place into a "Poor Score" with the place having the lowest overall Poor Score, Camden, crowned the "Poorest Place In New Jersey For 2021". You can download the data here.
There You Have It - The Poorest Places In New Jersey For 2021
Like we said earlier, when we set out to identify the poorest places in New Jersey, we weren't sure what we'd encounter, but it ended up being some of the best places to live in New Jersey.
When you look at the data, the cities and places mentioned above meet the criteria for being at the very bottom of the income ladder for everyone that lives there.
If you're curious enough, here are the richest cities in New Jersey, according to data:
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Richest: North Caldwell
2nd Richest: Haddonfield
3rd Richest: Rumson
For more New Jersey reading, check out:
- Richest Cities In New Jersey
- Safest Places In New Jersey
- Worst Places To Live In New Jersey
- Most Expensive Places To Live In New Jersey
Detailed List Of The Poorest Places To Live In New Jersey
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camden | 74,002 |
| 2 | Atlantic City | 37,999 |
| 3 | Trenton | 83,412 |
| 4 | Newark | 281,054 |
| 5 | Wildwood | 5,042 |
| 6 | Asbury Park | 15,597 |
| 7 | East Orange | 64,374 |
| 8 | Pleasantville | 20,301 |
| 9 | Keansburg | 9,735 |
| 10 | Bridgeton | 24,540 |
| 11 | Paulsboro | 5,904 |
| 12 | Plainfield | 50,362 |
| 13 | Burlington | 9,815 |
| 14 | New Brunswick | 55,960 |
| 15 | Millville | 27,721 |
| 16 | Lindenwold | 17,320 |
| 17 | Ventnor City | 10,095 |
| 18 | Long Branch | 30,516 |
| 19 | Woodbury | 9,861 |
| 20 | Passaic | 70,019 |
| 21 | Vineland | 60,034 |
| 22 | Bellmawr | 11,398 |
| 23 | Pine Hill | 10,442 |
| 24 | Elizabeth | 128,333 |
| 25 | West New York | 52,662 |
| 26 | Guttenberg | 11,317 |
| 27 | Paterson | 145,710 |
| 28 | Glassboro | 19,826 |
| 29 | Bayonne | 65,091 |
| 30 | Phillipsburg | 14,344 |
| 31 | Gloucester City | 11,248 |
| 32 | Pitman | 8,805 |
| 33 | North Plainfield | 21,501 |
| 34 | Fairview | 14,258 |
| 35 | Prospect Park | 5,865 |
| 36 | Union City | 68,226 |
| 37 | Hackett | 9,485 |
| 38 | Dunellen | 7,252 |
| 39 | Roselle | 21,637 |
| 40 | Palmyra | 7,189 |
| 41 | Somerdale | 5,448 |
| 42 | Harrison | 17,213 |
| 43 | Washington | 6,490 |
| 44 | Clayton | 8,626 |
| 45 | Keyport | 7,034 |
| 46 | Jersey City | 261,940 |
| 47 | Little Ferry | 10,782 |
| 48 | Somers Point | 10,321 |
| 49 | Absecon | 8,362 |
| 50 | Haledon | 8,325 |
| 51 | Hammonton | 14,139 |
| 52 | Carteret | 23,589 |
| 53 | Perth Amboy | 51,678 |
| 54 | Belmar | 5,624 |
| 55 | Lodi | 24,430 |
| 56 | Linden | 42,222 |
| 57 | Eato | 12,214 |
| 58 | South River | 16,001 |
| 59 | Wharton | 6,474 |
| 60 | Englewood | 28,353 |
| 61 | Stratford | 6,971 |
| 62 | Ridgefield | 11,227 |
| 63 | Hight | 5,375 |
| 64 | Red Bank | 12,072 |
| 65 | Collingswood | 13,912 |
| 66 | Hackensack | 44,339 |
| 67 | South Amboy | 8,772 |
| 68 | Freehold | 11,797 |
| 69 | Beachwood | 11,226 |
| 70 | Palisades Park | 20,604 |
| 71 | Kearny | 41,412 |
| 72 | Highland Park | 13,883 |
| 73 | Manville | 10,230 |
| 74 | Dover | 17,977 |
| 75 | Garfield | 31,645 |
| 76 | Union Beach | 5,390 |
| 77 | Wallington | 11,540 |
| 78 | Newton | 7,910 |
| 79 | Bloomingdale | 8,088 |
| 80 | Northfield | 8,153 |
| 81 | Somerville | 12,085 |
| 82 | Mil | 6,998 |
| 83 | Runnemede | 8,327 |
| 84 | Spotswood | 8,269 |
| 85 | Clifton | 85,204 |
| 86 | Woodland Park | 12,547 |
| 87 | Roselle Park | 13,581 |
| 88 | Bogota | 8,360 |
| 89 | Brigantine | 8,832 |
| 90 | Jamesburg | 5,921 |
| 91 | Sayreville | 44,292 |
| 92 | Middlesex | 13,662 |
| 93 | Cliffside Park | 25,126 |
| 94 | Raritan | 7,865 |
| 95 | Elmwood Park | 20,059 |
| 96 | Rahway | 29,543 |
| 97 | Barrington | 6,716 |
| 98 | New Milford | 16,545 |
| 99 | Wanaque | 11,709 |
| 100 | Bound Brook | 10,288 |
